About Us

In 1874 John Wood cast the ﬁrst iron plough in the Forge at Fangdale Beck in Bilsdale (near Helmsley, North Yorkshire) and so the company known today as J Wood & Son, was born.

Prior to this John had spent time working in Manchester learning about the iron industry and the use of water power being employed in Sheffield to cast and chill the iron. Using this knowledge, he constructed a water wheel to power the Forge in Bilsdale.

At the turn of the 20th century he was employing 4 men and two apprentices. By 1911 after 2,000 ploughs had been made, the Bilsdale Plough Company moved to Drifﬁeld in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Between 1911 and 1991 the company underwent great expansion due to the advances in agriculture and agricultural machinery. The Massey Harris franchise was taken on and J Wood & Son became a company that could supply everything that a farmer needed.

In 1972 the company was purchased from the Wood family by Percy Long who had been a director of the company since the 1950’s. Percy’s wife Emmie took over the running of the company when he died and she in turn handed control to her son Mark Bentley upon her retirement in 1995.

The company has not stood still with Mark at the helm, who has worked hard to ensure the business has a sound ﬁnancial footing and consolidated its operations to Kirkbymoorside.

Over the years’ J Wood & Son has continued to provide our customers with a wide range of farm machinery from some of the leading manufacturers and today our main sales franchises are Case IH, Lely and Welger, Bobcat, Schaffer and Claydon Drills, amongst others. We also provide a wide range of garden machinery and tools, as well as workwear and other goods in our large retail shop.

We are very proud of our rich heritage and for over 140 years have continued to provide best value and a ﬁrst class service to generations of farmers. As a progressive business, we are committed to this and we welcome your business and look forward to being of service to you.